Turkish jets bombard Kurdish positions

Turkish fighter jets have bombarded Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) positions in south-eastern Turkey for the first time since the start of the peace process between the outlawed group and the Turkish government in 2012.

According to media reports, Monday’s strikes came in retaliation for armed PKK offensives on several military outposts in the area. The reports claim that the targeted PKK units had been attacking Daglica military posts using rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire for three days.

A statement published by the Turkish general chief of staff said the military “opened fired immediately in retaliation, in the strongest terms” after repeated PKK attacks in the area, and before air strikes were launched.

The Turkish daily Hurriyet reported that the air strikes caused “major damage” to the PKK, while the Kurdish Firat news agency said there had not yet been any confirmations concerning casualties and losses on the rebel side.

Other Turkish newspapers also reported armed clashes between the PKK and troops in the Tunceli area of east-central Turkey on Monday.

The military operation against the PKK came in the wake of violent clashes last week between Kurdish factions and security forces in several Turkish cities. Anger over perceived government inaction against the continuing Isis attack on the Kurdish town of Kobani in Syria spilled over on to the streets, with at least 40 people dead, according to reports.

A number of those killed died in clashes between PKK supporters and members of the Free Cause party (Huda Par), thought to be linked to Hezbollah, a Sunni militant group from Turkey that gained notoriety in the 1990s when it was recruited by the Turkish “deep state” to murder and torture hundreds of PKK members and supporters in the region. Huda Par leaders have rejected all responsibility for the violence last week and accuse PKK members of deliberate provocation and political exploitation of the situation in Kobani.

Observers fear that tensions between the PKK and their Sunni Islamist rivals might stir wider unrest and derail the peace process.

The air strikes are the first major mutual break of the ceasefire since the peace process was launched in 2012 as an effort to end a bloody conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people in 30 years.

YAZIDI GIRL ON ISLAMIC STATE CAPTUREA 15-year-old Yazidi girl describes her treatment at the hands of the Islamic State militants from the safety from a refugee camp in Iraq

155 comments:

Turkish jets bombed targets in the southeast of Turkey where members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are based, the first strikes on the outlawed group since a 2013 ceasefire, a security source said.

Turkish F-16 jets dropped bombs late on Monday on PKK targets in the village of Daglica in the Kurdish-majority Hakkari province near the border with Iraq, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The fierce clashes between Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) insurgents and Kurdish forces in the key Syrian town of Kobane have shaken Turkey’s fragile peace process with the PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and much of the international community.

Frustrated with Turkey’s lack of action to stop Isil's advance in northern Syria, Turkey's Kurdish community has taken to streets in several cities in the southeast over the past week, with scores killed in deadly clashes.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed the unrest on the "dark forces" seeking to sabotage the delicate peace process with the PKK to end 30 years of violence that has claimed at least 40,000 lives.

The Kurds need the weaponry that will put Turkish jets at risk. With that, the Turks will have to get boots on the ground. The Kurds have already provided a vivid lesson for the Turks, using IS as the test case.

If confirmed, this would be the first major air raid by Turkey on the PKK since a ceasefire was reached in March in 2013.

Suicide bombingsThe battle for Kobane, a predominantly Kurdish town, has emerged as a major test of whether the coalition's air campaign can push back IS.

Two weeks of air strikes against IS targets in and around Kobane have allowed Kurdish fighters to slow the jihadists' advance, but Turkish and Western leaders have warned that the town is still likely to fall.

Re: "The battle for Kobane, a predominantly Kurdish town, has emerged as a major test of whether the coalition's air campaign can push back IS."

It does nothing of the sort. It does show the difference in character between the indomitable Kurdish freedom fighters and the mighty, mighty Iraqi Army (sic). Had Kobane been defended by the Iraqi Army (sic), it would have fallen on day one of the assault.

Even the USAF, doubts the value of the current air war campaign. Google. Despite air strikes for weeks, IS continues to reinforce and resupply at will.

TEL AVIV — “The whole world is against us.” So begins an Israeli classic. Surprisingly, the song is upbeat, even cheery. “The whole world is against us/it is an ancient tune/which our Fathers taught us/to sing and also to dance.” It was written by Yoram Taharlev in 1969, at a time when, he said, many countries “inexplicably supported our enemies.”

Some perceptions haven’t changed. In August, when a pollster asked “how do you feel about the famous saying ‘the whole world is against us,”’ 63 percent of Israeli Jews polled thought that it accurately described Israel’s situation.

But something has changed since the late 1960s. Back then, Israelis could treat global hostility with an optimistic and an almost amused sense of defiance. Today, we seem angrier and more worn down by our unfavorable status among the nations. We also obsess about it — in ways that can’t be good for our national mental health.

In recent weeks, two new books in Hebrew that made Israelis even more aware of their isolation hit the top of the local best-seller lists. One, “Catch the Jew,” by the journalist-provocateur Tuvia Tenenbom, chronicles hatred for Israel among Palestinians and left-wing activists. Another book, “Industry of Lies,” by the columnist Ben Dror Yemini, exposes the many ways in which a hostile world — media outlets, nongovernmental organizations and academics — distorts the truth about Israel.

These books have packaged for Israelis the reality in which they already believe. And Israelis are buying it — just like a paranoid person who becomes addicted to evidence that proves him right and makes him even more paranoid.

Israel is indeed a paranoid nation, but it’s not delusional. The fact that Israel suffers from a very bad reputation in many countries around the world is hard to deny: In a January Gallup poll, Israel was voted one of the countries most “dangerous to world peace” — tied with North Korea and Iran (though lagging behind the United States, which had the dubious honor of topping the list).

A BBC poll from May found that “Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and Iran came out worst in terms of how they are viewed globally.”

Of course, critics of Israel have a plethora of arguments to explain the country’s poor standing around the world. Most of them are concerned with Israel’s problematic control of a Palestinian population in the West Bank that is denied full political rights. Others object to Israel’s insistence on defining itself as a Jewish state.

No matter the arguments, most Israelis don’t buy them, and for good reasons. Grouping a country that is democratic, liberal and open with countries like Iran and North Korea hardly makes sense, and raises suspicions about the real motives behind those who wish to make denouncing Israel a central plank of international discourse. No wonder that in a 2010 “Peace Index” survey, 77 percent of Jewish Israelis agreed with the contention that “no matter what Israel does” the world is still “going to be critical.” In other words, Israelis believe that the reasons cited for Israel’s low popularity are no more than excuses.

Their latest evidence is the reaction in the world to the conflict this past summer in Gaza — which was perceived as a just war by a vast majority of Israel’s Jewish citizens. How dare anyone criticize Israel for such a war, they think, when “no other country and no other army in history have gone to greater lengths to avoid casualties among the civilian population of their enemies,” as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his address to the United Nations last week.

And yet, in three large European countries — Germany, Britain and France — a survey found that majorities blamed both Israel and Hamas for the escalation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip.

Close to 60 percent of Israelis were pleased with Mr. Netanyahu’s United Nations address, in which he protested, among other things, the fact that the United Nations Human Rights Council plans on “investigating Israel rather than Hamas for war crimes.”

The investigation is preposterous; Hamas triggered Israel’s attack by launching rockets indiscriminately at civilian areas. And the United Nations inquiry is going to be managed by a kangaroo court. Indeed, a body blatantly hostile to Israel formed the committee, its mandate was written in a way that presupposes Israeli guilt, and the committee’s supposedly impartial head, the Canadian lawyer William Schabas, said two years ago that his “favorite person to bring to the International Criminal Court would be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”

Faced with such blatant bias, it’s no surprise that Israelis support Mr. Netanyahu when he condemns the investigation. Yet, less than 20 percent believe that Mr. Netanyahu was successful in “convincing the world public” that Israel has the better argument.

Israelis, in other words, believe in strongly denouncing world hypocrisy even if this approach is unlikely to make Israel any new friends. And the more Israel goes into rhetorical attack mode, the gap between the way Israelis view themselves and the way they are viewed by others widens. But can Israel be a more cheerful paranoid?

Understanding that the world is not on Israel’s side, and that powerful forces work to delegitimize Israel, is essential for Israel’s self-preservation. However, wallowing in self-pity and basking in a comforting sense of righteousness is counterproductive and dangerous.

This sort of behavior makes Israelis blind to criticisms that do have merit, and becomes an obstacle to selfimprovement. It also makes Israelis neglect the need to improve their standing in the world and indifferent to the fact that speeches by the prime minister should aim to have a positive impact.

Self-pity and self-righteousness will make Israelis even less appealing — and thereby contribute to the hatred of Israel against which they rightly protest.

Shmuel Rosner is the political editor at The Jewish Journal and a fellow at The Jewish People Policy Institute.

Jews have always found Europe violently hostile. The same was true of the Eastern Church until it was brought low by Islam. While the Muslims, other than in Spain for a period, treated Jews with contempt, Europeans (east and west) invariably became murderous, right into the middle of the 20th C.

Nothing has really changed about the European view of the Jewish problem other than the language used to define it. If Israel wishes to survive, it must resist mightily the temptation to believe the Europeans wish it well. If Israel is isolated, well, there is nothing historically new about that. As for the UK, England was the first Western country to banish its Jews, after robbing them, of course.

Fortunately, Jews have always had the knack for friendly, profitable trade across the globe, whether by sailing ships and camels or modern container carriers. If Israeli leaders can keep their wits about them, they can find alternatives to faux European affection.

October 14, 2014Is Ebola the Same Virus as the Black Death?By Chriss Street

Most people assume that the fourteenth-century Black Death that quickly ravaged the western world was a bacterial bubonic plague epidemic caused by flea bites and spread by rats. But the Black Death killed a high proportion of Scandinavians where it was too cold for fleas to survive. Biology of Plagues. Evidence from Historical Populations published by Cambridge University Press, analyzed 2,500 years of plagues and concluded that the Black Death was caused by a viral hemorrhagic fever pandemic similar to Ebola. If this is correct, the future medical and economic impacts from Ebola have been vastly underestimated.

Authors Dr. Susan Scott, a demographer, and Dr. Christopher J. Duncan, a zoologist at the University of Liverpool point out that the Bible used the term “plague” to describe a catchall of afflictions resulting from divine displeasure. The researchers analyzed the “Four Ages of Plague”, including the “Plague of Athens” from 430 to 427 BC that killed about a third of the city; the “Plague of Justinian” from 542 to 592 AD and killed 10,000 a day in Constantinople; the Black Plague from 1337 to 1340 AD that killed a third of Eurasia; and a series of plague outbreaks in Europe from 1350 to 1670 that killed about half a number of city populations.

Historical records of the Athenian plague paint a very similar picture to the Black Death and the accelerating Ebola pandemic. Like Ebola, the plague is believed to have originated in Africa and then travelled northward.

Athenians suffered a sudden onset of severe headache, inflamed eyes, and bleeding in their mouths and throats. The next symptoms were coughing, sneezing, and chest pains; followed by stomach cramps, intensive vomiting and diarrhea, and unquenchable thirst. With flushed skin burning from fever and open sores, 50-90% died in the second week of symptoms. Desperate to cool off, contagious victims may have transmitted the disease to other humans by jumping into public cisterns and watering troughs.

Bubonic plague was first recorded in China about 37 AD and still is a worldwide public health problem with thousands of cases each year. The most recent outbreak was in the Chinese city of Yumen on July 22, 2014, where a man died after handling a dead marmot. The Chinese military responded by quarantining 30,000 local residents.

The first symptom of bubonic plague is a mild and non-alarming fever. But bubonic swellings follow within a few days. Sufferers either go into a deep coma or become violently delirious, paranoid, and suicidal. Most victims die within a few days. Recovery is almost certain for those whose “buboes”, sores lymph glands, fill with pus. But before antibiotics, the appearance of black blisters was considered a sign of imminent death.

Bubonic plague is very seldom spread from person to person. The disease needs a rodent population, usually rats, to carry fleas to spread the infection to humans. Once the local rats die out from the infection, human infections tend to tail off.

For the 2011 book, The Black Death in London, archaeologist Barney Sloane, who worked on medieval sites for the Museum of London and is now attached to English Heritage, documents the 1348-49 epidemic that killed two thirds of the city could not have been bubonic plague, because “The evidence just isn't there to support it.”

“We ought to be finding great heaps of dead rats in all the waterfront sites but they just aren't there. And all the evidence I've looked at suggests the plague spread too fast for the traditional explanation of transmission by rats and fleas. It has to be person to person – there just isn't time for the rats to be spreading it.”

The World Bank just estimated the cost of Ebola in West Africa is $32 billion over the next two years as it spreads from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to its larger neighbors. This estimate assumes that the Ebola hemorrhagic fever can only be transmitted by direct human to human contact with bodily fluids.

But The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) in June 30, 1995 published guidelines (44(25);475-479) for managing patients with suspected viral hemorrhagic fever, including “Lassa, Marburg, Ebola, and Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever” to prevent hospital acquired “nosocomial transmission”. According to the CDC:

“Epidemiologic studies of VHF in humans indicate that infection is not readily transmitted from person to person by the airborne route.” Although airborne transmission “is considered a possibility only in rare instances from persons with advanced stages of disease (e.g., one patient with Lassa fever who had extensive pulmonary involvement may have transmitted infection by the airborne route). In contrast, investigation of VHF in nonhuman primates (i.e., monkeys) has suggested possible airborne spread among these species.”

On October 2, 2014, the CDC published "Ebola Virus Disease -- Transmission" stating “Ebola is not spread through the air or by water”. The CDC states “Only mammals have shown the ability to become infected with and spread Ebola virus.” They suggest “humans, bats, monkeys, and apes” as transmitters. But this mammal-to-mammal theory should concern Americans, since 18.6 billion rats are the most populous mammal and six cities with the largest rat populations on earth are in the U.S; including: 1) New York; 2) Boston; 3) Baltimore; 4) Chicago; 5) New Orleans; and 6) Atlanta.

Senator and medical doctor Rand Paul warns that U.S. officials are underestimating the danger posed by Ebola, because, “This could get beyond our control.” The World Health Organization agrees “There is no evidence that the EVD [Ebola] epidemic in West Africa is being brought under control.” The WHO’s current “Ebola count” is 8,033 cases and 3,865 deaths from Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo, Spain and United States. Australia, Germany, and Turkey just reported new cases and some authoritarian nations may be suppressing disclosure of Ebola cases.

A pandemic is “an epidemic (a sudden outbreak) that becomes very widespread and affects a whole region, a continent, or the world due to a susceptible population.” True pandemics cause a high degree of mortality”, like the Black Death and Ebola outbreak.

The logical conclusion to be drawn from President Obama not closing U.S. airports to travelers from Ebola-ravaged countries is that with the death of first U.S. Ebola patient and numerous cities reporting potential cases, the U.S. risks becoming an “Ebola-ravaged” nation.

Chriss Street suggests that if you are interested in the economics of healthcare, please click on "Covered California Admits to 'Narrow Networks' of Doctors and Hospitals"

The polls that most campaigns rely on are their own. When the Republicans announced they were lifting spending in 6 Senate races -- Colorado, Georgia, South Dakota, Iowa, New Hampshire and Alaska -- it was indicative of growing concerns about holding Georgia and winning South Dakota (Democrats have also boosted spending there in what was viewed for most of the campaign season as a likely GOP pickup). It also indicated that the small GOP leads in Iowa, Colorado and Alaska are vulnerable.

In Alaska, where Democrats have a strong ground game aimed at rural Alaskans and native Americans (15% of the population), the Republicans have countered with perhaps their most effective TV ad campaign.

The spending on New Hampshire reflects the most recent polls showing the race tightening, with Scott Brown down only 2 %. Today comes news that Republicans will add $6 million to the $3 million they planned to spend in North Carolina. This comes on the heels of two new polls showing Republican challenger Thom Tillis even, and today ahead by 1 point, in a race where Kay Hagan has had a 3-4 point lead for months.

What this means is that the GOP is now targeting ten pickup races: West Virginia, Montana, South Dakota, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alaska, North Carolina, Iowa, Colorado and New Hampshire. Mitt Romney won the first 6 by large margins, and North Carolina by 2%. He lost in the other 3 states by 5-6%. At the moment, the Republican leads in the last poll taken in 9 of these 10 states, all except New Hampshire.

On the other hand, the latest Georgia poll shows a tie, and Greg Orman, the fake independent, leads in the latest Kansas poll by 3%. If the Republicans can hold their vulnerable seats, and the Obama administration continues to self-destruct, November 4th might be a very good day for the Party

These people obviously know zero about the ways of war and etc of the peaceful laid back living in harmony with nature and one another of the Noble American Indians.

When Lewis and Clark came back to Asotin to pick up their supplies, they were met by what's his name, with a necklace of human scalps around his neck, just back from looting the Shoshone to the south, a yearly event.....

They noted the significance of it being Columbus Day, calling him “the first looter” and saying they were “reclaiming” the college campus. “I know this was a college a couple of hours ago, but as of right now this is our spot and we not going nowhere,” a protest leader said.

Both Robert "Bob" Peterson play the 'You Stole the Land' meme ...Here at the Elephant Bar.Perhaps they have a valid point.

If one were to take their claims seriously, then Columbus would have to be considered the "First Looter".Poor Robert "Bob" Peterson, cannot keep his story lines straight, any longer. Well, he never could, but that is fodder for another post.

............from his 360 acres of rich deep river bottom land he stole from the Injuns.

Since "Jack is Back" I will go take a shower and get ready to go to the Doc's.

Last PSA test.

As I take my leave, here is a good article -

Not Destroying ISISOctober 14, 2014 by Nonie Darwish 11 Comments

Nonie Darwish is the author of The Devil We Don’t Know; The Dark Side of Revolutions in the Middle East and President of FormerMuslimsUnited.org.

Obama-ErtoganpngWestern media, President Obama, all Muslim countries, and myriad groups and individuals have been telling us that ISIS does not represent Islam. Muslims, especially in the West, insist that their beloved faith has nothing to do with the terrorists who are embarrassing the good and peaceful Muslims and who are giving Islam a bad name and dishonoring the real Islam.

It is a fact that Arab/Islamic culture highly values honor and pride and has little tolerance for those who dishonor Islam and Islamic “family values.” Because honor is so vital in Islamic culture, a whole section in Islamic law is dedicated to forgiving and not prosecuting certain murders when they are linked to honor, such as the killing of adulterers and apostates. Sharia has harsh punishment for those who dishonor Islam or deviate from its values and commandments......

http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/nonie-darwish/not-destroying-isis-2/

It is true, Islam and Arabs practice an extreme form of the old Honor/Shame culture.

There are no Sunni 'moderate Moslems' out there that are going to fight ISIS.

We should aid the Kurds, and let the Sunnis and the Shias fight forever, which they will do anyway, regardless of what we do or do not do.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told the Jerusalem Post that Israel so wanted Assad out and his Iranian backers weakened, that Israel would accept al-Qaeda operatives taking power in Syria.

“We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran.”

Even if the other “bad guys” were affiliated with al-Qaeda. “We understand that they are pretty bad guys,” Oren said in the interview.

You are being repetitive, Anonymous.That is, according to some that post here, a cardinal sin.

For myself, it is a remembrance of Winston Churchill, the fella that drew the map of Iraq, the entire Middle East, the map the US is still trying to preserve.

If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack. - Winston Churchill

Stay the Coure, Anonymous, Stay the Course ...Continue to babble, babble, it is what YOU do best.

BAGHDAD, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- A total of 50 people were killed on Tuesday in clashes and air strikes against the positions of the Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, security source said.

In Salahudin province, Iraqi security forces, backed by Shiite militia, captured three villages in the southeastern town of Dujail, some 60 km north of Iraqi capital Baghdad, after fierce battles with IS militants. At least seven militants were killed and five of their vehicles destroyed, a provincial security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Iraqi security forces continued attacks against IS positions during the day in and near the towns of Balad, Baiji, Samarra and Dhuluiyah, killing 13 militants and destroying equipment and several vehicles, the source said.

In one of the air strikes, a prominent IS leader and two of his aides were killed when a helicopter gunship destroyed three vehicles with IS members on board in the militants-seized town of Baiji, some 200 km north of Baghdad, the source said, citing intelligence reports.

In the eastern province of Diyala, Iraqi security forces and Shiite militia backed by aircraft carried out an operation in the rural areas near the village of Hunbus, some 110 km northeast of Baghdad. They killed 22 militants, including two group leaders, a provincial security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Separately, Mullah Eid, a prominent leader of the IS group, and three of his guards were killed in clashes with security forces and Shiite militia in Qaraghul village on the northwestern edge of Diyala province, the source said, adding that a Shiite militiaman was also killed and seven others wounded in the battle.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told the Jerusalem Post that Israel so wanted Assad out and his Iranian backers weakened, that Israel would accept al-Qaeda operatives taking power in Syria.

“We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran.”

Even if the other “bad guys” were affiliated with al-Qaeda. “We understand that they are pretty bad guys,” Oren said in the interview.

US-led aircraft hammered Islamic State jihadists with 21 bombing raids near Kobane on Monday and Tuesday amid signs the strikes had "slowed" the group's advance on the Syrian border town, the American military said.

In one of the heaviest bombardments so far against the Sunni jihadists encircling Kobane, coalition air strikes "destroyed" two IS staging locations, a building, a truck, two vehicles, three compounds and damaged several other targets, it said.

A separate air raid in eastern Syria struck a small oil refinery, it said.

"Indications are that air strikes have slowed ISIL advances" around Kobane, US Central Command, which is overseeing the air campaign, said in a statement.

"However, the security situation on the ground there remains fluid, with ISIL attempting to gain territory and Kurdish militia continuing to hold out," it said, using another acronym for the Islamic State group.

The air strikes are designed to "interdict" IS reinforcements and resupply efforts as well as prevent the group from "massing combat power" against the Kurdish-held parts of Kobane, it said.

US fighter jets and bombers took part in the raids along with aircraft from Saudi Arabia, according to Central . . . . .

Reread you own post, Rufus, 21 bombing raids near Kobane and one other in Syria, 22 total over two days.

I'm sorry, just going by your post that is 22 bombing raids by the 'coalition' throughout Syria, 11 a day on average. That may sound like a lot to you but it doesn't to me.

As for not wanting us to expand the war, of course I said that. But we are in it up to our ass now and I want to see them get it over with as soon as possible. The US is getting criticism right and left. This at the same time we are trying to sell this war to the Sunni populations. Why aren't we blasting the hell out of IS? Are there no additional targets? Don't we have enough resources there right now? Obviously, we don't have the allies there that we need but even when the Iraqis were fighting like at that military base near Hit, I've seen nothing printed about them getting air support from either the Iraqis or the coalition.

We need a little good press. We need to kick ass and take names. We need something impressive.

How long do you expect the Brits to keep their 6 or 7 planes there? The Aussies? Years? How long do you expect the American people to patiently wait when the media is saying IS is winning, when the generals are saying the mission isn't going well, when the atrocities keep piling up.

So were the NAZIs and Japanese. They were, nonetheless, engaged in real warfare.

In Mr. Obama's defense, not Bush II, Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, or Carter had a clue they were in a "for keeps" war. The amount of time covered by these presidencies ought to give some glimmer or hint of how the Muslims feel. For those interested, view the 100 year plan of the Muslim Brotherhood.

http://news.yahoo.com/special-report-mosul-fell-iraqi-general-disputes-baghdads-103318792.htmlSpecial Report: How Mosul fell - An Iraqi general disputes Baghdad's story

"An investigation by Reuters shows that higher-level military officials and Maliki himself share at least some of the blame. Several of Iraq's senior-most commanders and officials have detailed for the first time how troop shortages and infighting among top officers and Iraqi political leaders played into Islamic State's hands and fueled panic that led to the city's abandonment. Maliki and his defense minister made an early critical mistake, they say, by turning down repeated offers of help from the Kurdish fighting force known as the peshmerga."

http://rbedrosian.com/mmpaul1.htmArmenian Elements in the Beliefsof the Kizilbash Kurds*

"In conclusion, it seems fairly clear that the religion of the Kizilbash, who live mostly in eastern Turkey but are also scattered from Erzerum in the east to Aydin and Smyrna (Izmir) in the west, belongs to the Shiite sect of Islam, although their beliefs and rituals contain considerable pagan and Christian elements, placing them outside the pale of orthodox Islam. Some of the Kizilbash are Kurds, and they are mostly found in Dersim in the upper Euphrates valley. This area was at one time heavily populated by Armenians, as is evident from the many ruins of Armenian villages and churches. The religious beliefs and practices of the Kizilbash are shared by several other Shiite groups known by different names: the Nusayris in Syria; the Shabak, Bajwan, Sarliyya-Kakaiyya, and Ibrahimiyya in Iraq; and the Ahl-i Haqq (Ali Ilahis) in western Iran. [447] Sometimes the Shabak are identified with the Kizilbash and are in fact called by this name. Some of these sects, whose communicants live in the area stretching from Anatolia to Syria, Iraq, and Iran, not only possess religious beliefs with only slight variations, but have anthropological similarities revealing a common ethnic origin. This area forms a melting pot for several ethnic groups, especially for the Persians, Kurds, and Armenians (83). This area became a border between Turkey and Persia and has witnessed the activities of Shiite propagandists since the thirteenth century. Shiite propaganda was carried by the nomadic Turkoman and Kurdish tribes to Armenian Christians, with the result that a heterodox religion emerged whose veneer is Shiite Islam, but whose core is a syncretism of paganism, Mithraism, Armenian Christianity, and perhaps Mazdaism (84). By their own admission, members of these heterodox Shiite sects claim a strong association with Christianity, predominantly Armenian Christianity. They were most probably converted to extreme Shiism, either through conviction or compulsion, but retained most of their Christian practices and beliefs. A good example of such a conversion from Armenian Christianity to Kizilbashism is found among the inhabitants of the villages in the district of Rizeh, in the province of Trebizond, who, although they profess Islam, have preserved the rite of baptism and speak Armenian rather than Turkish (85). The majority of the Ghulat sects studied here fall into the same category as the extremist Shiites of Turkey. They form a vital part of the population in the area between Anatolia and Persia, which they have traversed for centuries (86)."

You too my be spared the tedium of skipping over a post, as the weather cools down and the polo season heats up.Bothers me not at all.

I do know that new readers come to the Elephant Bar, every day. It is for those readers I contribute, not for you.The accolades that I hear, more than make up for the inconvenience my 'style' of delivery may cause you.

Will be at 240,000 page views at the Jack Hawkins Google profile, by tomorrow.The message is getting out there. The Zionists here, helping me get 'er done, day by day, post by post.

You see, Legionnaire Q, I write for the readers, and you participate as if it were a closed club, read only by the contributors.

You perception of the Elephant Bar and mine, are not the same.Our goals, not the same.

I have other outlets for my writers voice.This venue is, for me, purely about the politics of the day, with an emphasis on foreign policy.

If the Zionists did not persist in their ad hominem diatribes, well, some of the thrill would be lost.As or Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, he was offered terms, he refused to negotiate.He refused to apologize, refused to accept responsibility for his own words.

The offering that was on the able, has been removed.By his own choice of actions and behaviors, while I do enjoy twisting his tail.He can't even grab onto mine.

Hell, Legionnaire, I play on the grass in Scottsdale, arena polo in Cave Creek, AZ and Burbank, CA.

This past weekend I was over in Indio, CA, at the Empire Polo Club.Next summer I may be abe to wrangle my way onto the grass at the Will Rogers field, in LA. That is a pretty closed group, pricey as well. Just the board bill for four horse at LA Equestrian Center, is $2,400 a month.Then there are membership dues and housing. Even a studio apartment, there in Burbank, is $900 a month.

A single season on the grass, in LA, would be close to $5,000 a month for five or six months. That is a little rich, even for me.

Well, rat, if you say so. I've said I believe what people say here about their personal lifes is true. Perhaps that is credulous on my part but I figure what reason would they have to lie. On the other hand, you have proven yourself to be a liar here so many times how can anyone believe anything you say. Likewise, you have proven your skill at googling. Given that, I would be more inclined to think that what flying you do is on Microsoft Flight Simulator and all your polo skills are picked up at PoloSkilz.com.

For Israel, an umbilical cord carrying the lifeblood of the state extends between it and Washington. Just imagine the speeches in the British Parliament which voted to recognise Palestinian statehood on Monday, being uttered on Capitol Hill. They would have been been unrepeatable in the US Congress.

Nevertheless, there was an audible snap in Britain on Monday night. Freed of the burden of saying what Israel and its lobby demanded to hear, politicians of right and left said what they felt.

Sir Richard Ottaway, the Tory chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, one who, in his own words had stood by Israel through thick and thin said that such was his anger at the Israeli government's annexation of 950 acres of the West Bank, that he would abstain.

Sir Alan Duncan, the former Tory minister for international development compared the settlements in the West Bank to the apartheid system of South Africa and said they represented a" wicked cocktail "of occupation. In a speech to the Royal United Services Institute, the chief think tank of the British defence establishment, on Tuesday Duncan said :

"Anyone who supports illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian land is an extremist who puts themselves outside the boundaries of democratic standards. They are not fit to stand for election or sit in a democratic parliament,"

That judgement applies to most of the Israeli cabinet and certainly to its prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu, who said on July 11:

"There cannot be a situation, under any agreement, in which we relinquish security control of the territory west of the River Jordan,"

Netanyahu went on to say that if Israel relinquished Judea and Samaria, the biblical vocabulary every Israeli politician uses for what Duncan described as stolen land, they would create another " 20 Gazas".

Netanyahu has created major problems for anyone trying to sell the line that a vote for Palestinian statehood was a vote against attempts to restart negotiations with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, because unilateral recognition prejudiced the outcome.

Simply, that line has few takers according to the vote that was carried overwhelmingly. Whatever Israel claims are its intentions, facts on the ground now speak louder than words. 600,000 settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with their network of separate motorways, roads, walls, electricity, water, says all anyone wants to know about Israel's intention of handing back the West Bank.It will not. It can not. No Israeli leader is strong enough to do it.

Israel's fury at the vote was uncontained, issuing a statement condemning the vote. But the silence of its UK ambassador on Monday, Daniel Taub was complete. According to Haaretz, he refused to give interviews. He should reflect on the fact that if he is losing the support of establishment figures like Ottaway, he is losing the game. As Ottaway himself said: " I have to say to the Government of Israel that if they are losing people like me, they will be losing a lot of people."

Economies across the European Union will lose about €40 billion this year, with the damage estimated to widen to €50 billion in 2015, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, citing figures from the EU itself.

There are so far no exact figures for the damage incurred, but the European Union has made some preliminary estimates and said the damage could be as high as €40 billion this year, Sergey Lavrov said.

JERUSALEM -- The British parliament's vote to recognize a Palestinian state reflects shifting public sentiment against Israel in Britain and around the world, Britain's ambassador to Israel said Tuesday.

According to Ambassador Matthew Gould, the House of Commons' vote Monday will not change British government policy but is "significant" because it reveals attitudes toward Israel after the summer war in Gaza.

The 50-day round of violence ended with a truce but left more than 2,100 Palestinians dead, most of them civilians, according to the United Nations. On the Israeli side, 72 people died, most of them soldiers.

Gould told Israel Radio that although it was symbolic, Israel should take note of the vote.

"I think it is right to be concerned about what it signifies in terms of the direction of public opinion," Gould said.

Israel's recent settlement activity such as the recent move to approve more Jewish housing in east Jerusalem has "a very corrosive effect on international opinion," the British envoy added.

Financial Times - ‎Berlin has slashed its growth forecast for this year and the next, a move that highlights the government's mounting concerns about the impact of stagnation in the eurozone, geopolitical crises in Ukraine and the Middle East and a slowdown in emerging ...

Jack HawkinsTue Oct 14, 03:45:00 PM EDTStep by step, day by day ...Hamas's political victory in Gaza is becoming ever more evident.

Hamas’s favorability ratings are only marginally better. In Turkey, whose government supported the Mavi Marmara ship which tried to reach the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, 80% disapprove of the group.

Egypt (61%), Jordan (61%), and Lebanon (65%) all are heavily anti-Hamas. Somewhat paradoxically, 55% of Lebanon’s Shia have a favorable view of the Sunni group.

The group doesn’t do any better among the Palestinians for whom it purports to fight — but, paradoxically, Hamas is far more unpopular in the Gaza Strip (63%) it dominates than in the Palestinian Authority-run West Bank (47%).

Its support has dropped among Palestinians since it forcibly took over the Gaza Strip. In 2007, Hamas enjoyed a 62% favorable rating, which fell to only 35% in 2014.

Negative opinions of Hamas have grown 12% in Tunisia over the past year, and 8% in Egypt.

Of all the countries surveyed, Palestinians were the most likely to support suicide bombings against civilian targets “in order to defend Islam from its enemies.” Sixty-two percent of Gazans said it was often or sometimes justifiable, while 36% of West Bank residents said the same. Bangladeshi Muslims were also somewhat supportive of suicide bombings.

Read more: Pew: Support for Hamas, Hezbollah collapsing in region | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/pew-support-for-hamas-hezbollah-collapsing-in-region/#ixzz3G9pEmCv8 Follow us: @timesofisrael on Twitter | timesofisrael on Facebook

Jack HawkinsTue Oct 14, 03:45:00 PM EDTStep by step, day by day ...Hamas's political victory in Gaza is becoming ever more evident.

Gaza's Next Disaster: No Cement for Rebuilding

For years before the latest hostilities, Hamas, the Palestinian political organization, complained that Israeli restrictions on cement imports into Gaza were preventing the population from constructing homes, schools, and hospitals. As it turns out, a large share of the cement that did reach Gaza went into building underground lairs and attack tunnels for fighters from Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) estimate that each of the three dozen underground passages that troops have found so far required 350 truckloads of building supplies.

Here’s the dilemma: Gaza is going to need major reconstruction. In addition to countless homes and a hospital that Hamas commandeered, the Israeli bombardment has destroyed 50 factories that produced food products, soft drinks, and textiles, among other goods, according to Ali Al-Hayek, vice president of the Palestinian Federation of Industries. But if cement imports resume, what’s to stop Hamas, which runs the enclave, from again taking or smuggling it to rebuild its underground military infrastructure? That strategy would doubtless provoke Israeli retaliation—and a likely repeat of the current conflict.

Homeless Gazans struggle to find shelterGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Manal Abu Assar, 39, took a few moments to wash her children's clothes in the park next to al-Shifa Hospital, where her family has set up a tent. She took advantage of the absence of men, who left the hospital park in the morning.

According to a statement by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) to Al-Monitor, more than 200,000 people were displaced during the Israeli land operations that started about a month ago. Many of them sought refuge in public places such as al-Shifa Hospital and the Unknown Soldier Park in the city center, while some of the displaced settled on ground floors and garages of the city’s buildings.

Rows of tents, whose area ranges between 4 and 9 meters (13 to 30 feet), are stretched inside the park of al-Shifa Hospital. Hundreds of other families have set up tents in the interior corridors and in other sections of the hospital.

AL SHAJAYA, Gaza — Exhausted, battered and traumatized from 50 days of fighting and incessant Israeli bombardment, Gazans are now pouring through the streets lined with the rubble of former buildings and breathing a collective sigh of relief. Whether flocking to reopened cafés or pulling cinder blocks out of their blown-out living rooms, as the ceasefire takes effect people are feeling they have withstood the worst and survived. It's a sentiment Hamas is seizing on to try and claim “victory” in a war that has yet to end the seven-year siege of Gaza – which was supposed to have been its purpose when Hamas was launching rockets at Israel.

Rather than focusing on an agreement that doesn’t seems to get Palestinians anything more than they got at the end of the 2012 war, Hamas changed from its wartime claims that it was fighting a battle to end the blockade to new rhetoric about victory in survival and repelling the Israeli ground invasion.

As darkness fell over Al Shajaya’s ruined buildings and debris-filled craters Wednesday night, hundreds of residents and people from around Gaza climbed on wreckage and filed into living rooms with no front wall in anticipation of the first live public speeches by Hamas's fighting force, the Al Qassam Brigades. The smell of death still lingers in parts of the destroyed neighborhood where tens of thousands have been displaced by Israeli shelling and ground forces.

Masked fighters from all Palestinian factions -- including Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement – clamored over each other to get a place on the podium next to Al Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida. Fighters displayed shoulder rocket launchers, mortars and assault rifles as the red keffiya-clad Al Qassam representative called for Palestinian unity through armed resistance to Israel and pointed to Al Shajaya as the example of success. It was the scene of a ferocious hit and run campaign against the Israeli forces that cost 16 of them their lives.

“We are not weak,” he boomed through the mike as the stage lights illuminated the grey dust from the demolition that still hangs in the air. “We won the war with our hands,” he claimed about a conflict that has killed over 2000 Palestinians who are mostly civilians -- including 500 children-- wounded more than 10 000, and displaced over 500,000 Gazans, while killing 64 Israeli soldiers and six civilians on the Israeli side of the border.

Jack HawkinsTue Oct 14, 03:45:00 PM EDTStep by step, day by day ...Hamas's political victory in Gaza is becoming ever more evident.

CAIRO — An echo of the anti-Hamas rhetoric coming from Israel during its conflict with Gaza is resonating from what many would consider a surprising corner since fighting erupted July 8: Egypt.

A country whose leader just over a year ago had been a close Hamas ally is now one of its principal antagonists. It is stirring up public opinion against the militant group because Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt has outlawed.

Normally, Egyptians would be decrying Israel for the Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which is at more than 750 and rising. But Abou Ahmed Shehab, 60, who sells scarves at a sidewalk stand in central Cairo, was quick to attack Hamas.

"The reason for what's happening to our Palestinian brothers is because of Hamas," he says. "Hamas is an extremist group."

The English love the English and the English love oil and the English love a misplaced sense of relevancy; they do have a monarchy and an empire, don’t you know. Recall: The English have less than a dozen planes dedicated to the "war", as I recall. In fact, the number could be as little as six. Without American pampering, even those planes would be absent.

As this is written, the English cannot defend the Falklands. Indeed, England is unable to protect its own citizens from a highly volatile Muslim minority. While the English allegedly fight IS, they cannot come to an agreement about how to keep returning jihadis out of the country. Soon enough the English may find themselves taking care of their own knitting.

Changing the subject somewhat, expect the French to jump on the bandwagon. Hollande received 90% of the vote of France’s even more volatile and vicious Muslim minority. To stay in power, he needs those votes. Parts of France are now functioning under Sharia and parts of Paris and other major cities require the army when policing is attempted.

Israeli leaders need to maintain their composure. You can safely bet that within a few months the Palestinians will be fighting one another again. Israeli leaders also need to halt the making of insipid and idiotic statements about the British Parliament. The Brits have every right to vote as they please. Who cares? Moreover, the Jews no longer have to guess about friend and foe.

Hamas is a certified terrorist organization. It is an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose plan calls for the destruction of the West and the imposition of a global Muslim caliphate. To those in the “civilized” world into that sort of thing, good luck.

Jack HawkinsTue Oct 14, 03:45:00 PM EDTStep by step, day by day ...Hamas's political victory in Gaza is becoming ever more evident.

Donors pledge $2.7 billion for Gaza reconstruction!!

In 2013–2014, Egypt's military has destroyed most of the 1,200 smuggling tunnels which were used to smuggle food, weapons and other goods into Gaza.

Cost: priceless

Measures taken by Egypt[edit]Some measures such as Egypt’s construction of an underground fence along its side of the Gaza-Egypt border have been taken. In late 2009 Egypt started construction of a subterranean barrier in an attempt to curb the use of smuggling tunnels. Nevertheless, anti smuggling capabilities remain limited and constrained.[14]

In 2011, Egypt began sealing a series of smugglers’ tunnels between its border and the Gaza Strip.[31] The Egyptian army has increased its deployment along its border since 5 August 2012, when 16 Egyptian border police were killed in a terror attack. Since then there have been reports that the Egyptian army has been destroying smuggling tunnels by flooding them.[32]

In 2013, following the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état that ousted the pro-Hamas government, the Egyptian army has destroyed many of the tunnels, with the effect that "prices have soared, shelves are empty, utilities have suspended operations for lack of fuel and travel is restricted once again".[33]

In 2013, The Egyptian military started resorting to a pungent new tactic to shut down the smuggling tunnels connecting Sinai and Gaza: flooding them with sewage.[34]

Smuggling tunnels and the various methods different countries have used to address the types of threats tunnels pose to national security has been discussed in the literature.[35][36]

After General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi assumed leadership of Egypt in 2013, the Egyptian Army launched an aggressive campaign of destroying tunnels between Gaza and Egyptian territory. As of August 2014, the Egyptian Military destroyed 1659 tunnels

Now let's figure out how much the terror tunnels cost

Construction materials meant for Palestinians routinely enter Gaza from Israel. To be exact, 4,680 trucks carrying 181 thousand tons of gravel, iron, cement, wood and other supplies have passed through the Kerem Shalom crossing since the beginning of 2014.

so about 90 million dollars the terror tunnels cost.

How much did the other rockets and bunkers cost?

Who knows.

But there are PLEDGED 3.4 billion..

Gaza counts cost of war as more than 360 factories destroyed or damagedThousands of acres of farmland and cattle also wiped out with damage estimated at three times that of 2008-9 conflict

"I don’t know how they’re going to explain it. Look, it seems to me the Turks understand two things: A) That the Kurds are possible enemies so they are extremely reluctant, but B) that Obama is simply not serious about this war. Why would you join a war where the leader of the coalition is not serious. This is a war, an operation he refuses to give a name to."

What is it that old saw about insanity - doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different result this time?

Well that sums up all of you, even quirk who wants more now that we are in. From Bob's 'Obama pulled out the troops too early' through the 'rat doctrine' to Rufus's 'easy peasy they ate dead men walking' you are all singing from the same page hoping that, somehow, this time will be different.

Why do the Israelis have so much trouble dealing with Mr. Kerry? Everyone, or at least Mr. Kerry and Ms. Rice, knows that the moon is made of green cheese.

http://news.yahoo.com/no-discrepancy-between-u-turkey-over-islamic-state-185235768--business.html'No discrepancy' over Turkey's role in fight against Islamic State: Kerry

PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday there was no discrepancy between the United States and Turkey with regard to what Ankara “will or won’t do” in the fight against Islamic State insurgents.

Speaking at a news conference in Paris after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kerry insisted that Turkey was a “valued member” of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, which has taken over swathes of Iraq and Syria, and said Ankara would define its role “on its own timetable.”

Kerry spoke after Turkey on Monday denied an assertion over the weekend by U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice that it had agreed to let American planes take off from its air bases to strike Islamic State targets...

What is "Occupation"Sat Jul 19, 10:54:00 PM EDTit's a great time to buy the stock (Sodastream) Herr Rodent..It's undervalued. ($29.11)LOLyou really just don't understand business..

That was then ...This is now

October 11, 2014 by Doug Henwood for Mondoweiss SodaStream: is BDS hitting where it hurts?

SodaStream’s stock is now 70% off its all-time high set in July 2011Sodastream price Oct 14, 2114 - $20.95

Now let us review .."O"rdure recommends buying Sodastream on 19July 2014 at $29.11 telling us it was undervalued.Today Sodastream closed at $20.95That is DOWN $8.16 or 28% since "O"rdure made his 'buy' recommendation.

What is "Occupation"Fri Oct 03, 10:16:00 AM EDTI have been turned down repeatedly for a REFI.The system is screwed.

I think the US should stand down its military in the region. Humanitarian aid is fine. The US should quit trying pick the winners and losers and simply interact economically with the various partners it deems reasonable and helpful to her interest.

“Tardive dyskinesia most commonly occurs in patients with psychiatric conditions who are treated with antipsychotic medications for many years. The average prevalence rate has been estimated to be around 30% for individuals taking antipsychotic medication, such as that used to treat schizophrenia.”

They may not have the courage to stand and fight IS, but they are hell-on-wheels when it comes to killing unarmed civilians.

When I looked at the one photo of the Shi'a utes prancing around with their weapons, I thought, "In a few weeks, some IS guy is going to shove the barrel of that rifle up your puckered ass and blow your brains out." ... miserable bastards ...

“AshTue Oct 14, 09:32:00 PM EDTThe US should quit trying pick the winners and losers and simply interact economically with the various partners it deems reasonable and helpful to her interest.”

Why hasn’t anyone thought of that before? Someone did: the U.S. in WWI. The Germans were not impressed with what appeared to be deceit by neutrality and started sinking ships right and left. Eventually, this led to the sinking of the Lusitania which, by the way, was carrying munitions. See: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1098904/Secret-Lusitania-Arms-challenges-Allied-claims-solely-passenger-ship.html “The diving team estimates that around four million rounds of U.S.-manufactured Remington .303 bullets lie in the Lusitania's hold at a depth of 300ft… 'Now that we've found it, the British can't deny any more that there was ammunition on board. That raises the question of what else was on board.'There were literally tons and tons of stuff stored in unrefrigerated cargo holds that were dubiously marked cheese, butter and oysters.'I've always felt there were some significant high explosives in the holds - shells, powder, gun cotton - that were set off by the torpedo and the inflow of water. That's what sank the ship.'”

Well, Ash, before you can say “Rumpelstiltskin” the U.S. was at war, quite innocently, of course.

My next installment will be on how the Zionist Chaim Weizmann, holder of a PhD in chemistry, saved the British Empire by inventing a fermentation process for the mass production of acetone. It seems that before going to war in 1914 someone forgot to inventory the acetone stocks. By 1915, the Brits were almost taken out of the war because of a lack of artillery propellant. Weizmann was offered a knighthood, but asked for a small piece of land instead. His request was granted, but through usual British perfidy was stolen from his people. Despite Britain’s best efforts, Israel was established and Weizmann became her first president.

Magnificent Ronald and the Founding Fathers of al Qaeda

“These gentlemen are the moral equivalents of America’s founding fathers.” — Ronald Reagan while introducing the Mujahideen leaders to media on the White house lawns (1985). During Reagan’s 8 years in power, the CIA secretly sent billions of dollars of military aid to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan in a US-supported jihad against the Soviet Union. We repeated the insanity with ISIS against Syria.